Resilient Electric Heated Floor

[conchoss]

I'm contemplating how to renovate my high ranch into a 6 bedroom student rental in Ottawa and was wondering your opinion on using an electric heated floor for a small portion of the basement concrete slab. I was reading about heating during off peak hours (7pm to 6 am) the floor to create a thermal mass that can help keep the rest of the house at a constant temperature. I'm thinking it would be a nice to have in the shower and powder room down stairs to augment the forced air ducting so that I can still cool during the summer. Don't know if anyone would have already done the calculations to figure out how much savings I would get?

 

[Antriksh Forest]

Try to another way.

 

[Alvaro Sanchez]

I would try it for a high end housing but not for student rental.

 

[Matt Crowley]

It is most likely not worth the investment. Why do you think the market will pay a premium for it? Do you have any comparables to suggest a premium? I haven't seen any radiant in floor heating in purpose built rentals.

* The only time I have seen radiant heating is when a builder over-comp'ed his product for retail and buyers are not willing to pay the premium.

 

[conchoss]

To me it's providing a little bit of icing on the cake which customers appreciate. I'm finding significantly more serious interest in the properties that have a dishwasher, heated floors and internet. I'm calculating $50 per month per extra feature provided as a good starting point for discussion. Hence, investing $1000 for a heated floor will get paid off within two years. A $600 dishwasher that can be expected to last five years will be paid off in a year. I'm trying to also factor in damage, insurance, affect on vacancy rate etc. A holistic approach.

 

[Matt Crowley]

^ That is a really good way of looking at it.

If those are the numbers, I would do it. Sometimes, I see smaller investors get lazy when it comes to looking at tenant amenities and just go with the absolute minimum and never put a price on amenities. For example, one year ago I would have priced suites with granite / quartz countertops with a $50 - $65 premium per month vs. other suites. SS appliances $30-50. However, now that we are in a down and increasingly tighter market in Alberta the real benefit is on lower vacancy and a more competitive product.

It is easy to sell garbage in a market with 0% vacancy. Investors like you will make it through tougher economic times because they are end-user focused. Really well done!

(BTW, I'm jealous you can get a 5-year DW for $500. In Alberta it is closer to $800 for a SS DW with 5-year warranty, I just did two!)

So awesome to see an investor concerned about the life of their customers. Awesome.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

heated shower floors for students ?

Check the electric system first. It may have to be upgraded. Ideally each room is heated separately, with separate meters.

Ontario has very high electricity rates, due to the silly climate and energy policies of the current government [ coming soon to the rest of the country .. but I digress .. ] . As such, try to avoid it at all costs unless you can have the tenant, and not you, pay for it. Electric heat is not common in cold weather climates for a reason.

 

[yaonchung]

Have you thought about using amdry subfloor or similar product. It have foam insulation as well provides air circulation channel (in case moist get in from concrete slab, air circulation allows moisture to dry), it easy product to install. Another alternative is using 1inch insulation foam board on concrete slab then install regular sub floor then ur flooring (this method requires little more head room, check your local building code for height requirement for basement.) As for bath room, ditra heat is great subfloor u can use roughly 10dollar/sqft plus cost of getting electrician to pull the line for you. assuming you are handy enough that you can do most of the work yourself it is great way to add value to your property. Make sure you snap the photos of works done behind all finish product so when the time comes to resale you can show prospective buyer added value of what you put in that cannot be seem.

 

[conchoss]

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to ponder your points.

 

[RyP]

In-floor heating for students?! Man, The millennials are really changing the game!

But seriously I agree with sweet zone if the numbers work, do it. In university I rented a house with high-end finishes and me and my roommates stayed there for over 3 years. We loved it and took great pride in living there. We would even find jobs close stayed throughout the summers because we didn't want to lose the place! Nice finishes attract nice people. All the best.

 

[conchoss]

Thanks. What do you think of the main floor unit I redid last year?

 

[RyP]